Horse Racing

The Sport of Horse Racing
Horse racing is on the world’s most popular sports, especially in the UK where it was first introduced in an organized form of meetings and themed races. It was developed from the old horse racing events the roman conducted on UK soil, leaving the a mark on UK’s culture, a mark that would later become the sport of horse racing. Horse racing nowadays has several governing bodies responsible for its regulation, making sure all rules are kept in tact, and that the sport is fair and concerns the welfare of its participants, both jockeys and horses.

How Horse Racing Came to Be
The first horse racing events were taken place at around 200 AD and were held by the roman. The first recorded race took place in 1174, during the time of Henry II in London during a horse fair. Early in the 16th century, Henry VIII brought a large number of Arabian stallions, known for the agility and stamina, to mate with the local British mares, a move that later on laid the foundation of the thoroughbreds breeding, the main breed used in horse racing. Horse racing is believed to finally emerge at Newmarket, home of horse racing, where James I ,who was keen of horses and horse racing, established courses and meetings ever since getting familiar with this horse racing related town in 1605 and by 1634 Seasonal race meetings were held in Newmarket and the first Gold Cup event was raced. In 1654 a comprehensive ban on horse racing was imposed by Oliver Cromwell but was removed after the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 and Charles II established the Newmarket Town Plate race. From that moment on horse racing grew and flourished, having many related associations and enjoying the support of the royal institution, the parliament and the public.

Modern Horse Racing
Modern horse racing consists of two types of racing, Flat racing, a straight run in various distances and National Hunt racing, a race that includes jumping over hurdles and fences. The UK holds both types of racing with courses designated for either on type of racing or both types. Horse racing today is widely covered by the media, has a large betting industry with many bettors attending the courses and using racing betting systems in order to pick a winning horse. The horse racing betting industry is heavily regulated by the governing bodies and the government in order to prevent fraud, stealing and to ensure that tax money will be derived and that the earnings form the betting money will be used for the benefit of the courses, the sport and its participants.